(Shannon was nominated for an Oscar for his role in the lattersRevolutionary Road.)
Well start withNocturnal Animalsfirst, because thats what youre doing.
Tom Ford seems kind of intimidating.
I was curious if you knew him beforehand, or how he approached you about playing Bobby Andes?
I think hes a great screenwriter.
I mean, this screenplay is just amazing.
I havent read the original book, but his dialogue is really spot on.
You would not know that making movies is his second career.
Hes got a very vivid imagination, you know?
What did he tell you about the character youre playing?
Did he just send you a full script or did he tell you more about him?
I read the script, yeah, they sent me the script.
Its a very brutal piece.
The more I thought about it, the more I really liked the character of Bobby.
I just thought, Wow, this is my opportunity to get to be one of those guys.
Wed been looking to work together for a long time.
I really love Jake.
Is that something that you wanted to play more into?
Getting more into a noir character?
Yeah, I mean, I had a pretty straight shot at it.
Bobbys not a flamboyant throw in of person really.
Hes about, What are you going to do in any given situation?
We were so separate from the other part of the movie.
By the time they were doing that, I was gone.
I didnt get to even see any of it until I finally saw the movie.
When you read the script, originally, was it easy to follow the switches?
Yeah, its a fun read.
Its not too complicated, because it always makes sense, the transition from her to the book.
When it happens it always makes a lot of sense.
[Laughs] Nah, it doesnt throw me off.
Look, humor is one of my favorite things.
Who doesnt love humor?
Who doesnt love the laugh?
Its how we survive all kinds of ordeals.
I think Bobby is a very wry person.
Hes a very cynical, jaded, wry person in that he has a very dry sense of humor.
People always ask me, When are you going to do comedy?
and Im like, Dude theres comedy in everything.
You dont have to extract it and do it by itself.
Its like stuff inRevolutionary Road, I think that stuff is hysterical.
That guy cracks me up.
It made me laugh when I read it.
This whole notion that comedy has to be like stupid people doing stupid stuff is …
Comedy used to be so much more sophisticated, you know what I mean?
Even in the midst of that horrible intense situation.
A lot of times thats where humor comes from, its trying to deflect or diffuse something more serious.
You also hadElvis & Nixonthis year, which I loved.
I thought it was a rather underrated movie…
Oh, youre so sweet.
Well, thankfully its with Amazon, so easy enough to see it, you know?
Just go on your gear and there it is.
[Laughs] Thats cool to hear, yeah.
Yeah, you know, were just like brothers, me and Jeff.
Look, I was with him from step one andShotgun Stories.
Ive never seen somebody work so hard to get something done.
Its hard to explain why someone is unique.
Its kind of the definition of word unique is that its hard to put into words what it is.
Yeah, when we shot that movie, he didnt have enough money to develop the film.
He had to go out and get more money just to get the film developed.
You werent very funny in that movie, but its such a great drama and I really enjoyed it.
I was sure some distributor would grab it.
Thank you so much!
Im afraid nobody is going to see it.
That movie meant a lot to Bart.
I was blown away by that movie.
Taylor [John Smith]…
I hope Bart finds someone to get it out there.
I think IFC is going to try and get it out there, but theyre not super distributors.
Hes an amazing guy, Guillermo, so what was that experience working with him?
Did you have a lot of expectations beforehand?
You know, I didnt.
It was so much fun to get to work with him.
Its hard, he asks for a lot, or its demanding, but its worth it.
Definitely worth it, and I just had a blast working with him, I really did.
Is that the case, or do you still feel the need to work constantly?
I dont want to work constantly.
No, no, I dont, but I have a hard time saying no sometimes.
Im working on it.
The things that I yes to, by and large, and pretty interesting, I think.
If I look at the movies that Ive had come out this year.
Do you still have time for your band Corporal, or youve just been too busy acting?
Are you still doing music?
I dont have much time for the band.
When Corporal kind of came together, at the time, I wasnt working all that much.
I just dont have the time to do it right, and I dont like doing it wrong.
Nocturnal Animalsopens in select cities on Friday, Nov. 18.
